Cat's Eye
by J. L. Li
Summary: A theif steals the priceless Cat's Eye and murders two friends. Can Jack find the killer?


Cat's Eye  
  
"Shh…. I hear something!" whispered John to his friend Tyler, his voice quivering with fear. The unmistakable flip-flap sound of footsteps bounced off the ancient castle walls and seemed to grow gradually louder with each passing second. They tried to hid in a room after she attacked them, but made the mistake of choosing this one for there was only one exit.  
  
  
  
The two friends had recently bought these fifteen acres of land in a little known part of England and had found this castle hidden in an overgrown grove of trees by accident while exploring the land that they had newly purchased. Since then, they had made the castle their own secret private gallery of rare and expensive artwork and jewelry. Here they hid the Cat's Eye, a priceless Sapphire the size of a baby's fist. They didn't expect anyone to be here; they were wrong.   
  
  
  
A few days after they found the castle, they were enjoying a nice night of exploring the it's many hidden chambers and tunnels when they were ambushed and cornered. They could hardly breathe as the door knob started to turn ever so slowly. A thin line of light crept into the dim room as the door began to crack open and a dagger slipped through. Paralyzed by fear, John could not move, could not reach out to block the descending dagger that's making its swift way for his heart. Tyler however, dashed for the door. He made it past the attacker and was within thirty feet of the castle exit; He almost made it. He felt the assailant grabbing his hair and the burning sting as the dagger dug deeply into his exposed back. Tyler fell heavily to the ground. He tried to scream but could only manage an unintelligent rasp, for his lungs were fast filling with blood. The last thing he saw was the image of a blonde haired woman, and the last thing he heard was the woman saying "You have something I want, and I will get it."  
  
******************  
  
Sara screamed as she entered the castle doors. A lifeless body of a man lay limp before her. She inched toward one of the bodies and screamed again as it whispered in a breathless voice, "Help me." The body tried to reach up but the action obviously pained him. Sara immediately used her cell phone to call for help. In less then twenty minutes the police arrived. The body was taken to the hospital while Sara was brought to the Richardson County Police Station for questioning.   
  
*******************  
  
Detective Jack Angel made his way for the Richardson County Police Station almost immediately after he had been assigned and briefed on a case of top importance. He had gone through several years of detective training, but he still was lacking of actual field experience; why the case was assigned to a rookie cop like him was beyond him. Whatever the reason though, he was determined not to fail.   
  
Richardson County is a small and distant place with no more than five hundred people; It was only a few hours of drive to get to the local police station. When he arrived at the Richardson County Police Station, he flashed his badge at the front desk, and one of the sheriffs, his nametag read Sheriff Bradly, led him to the interrogation room where he was to question a potential suspect.  
  
"She was the one who called to report the crime," explained the sheriff as he pointed to a young woman sitting by a table. "Since we have no better leads, she's our only suspect." Then the shrift left, leaving Jack along with Sara.  
  
Jack sighed. How do they train the police these day?. I swear, that sheriff couldn't find a clue if it came out and bit him in the…  
  
"Excuse me but are you just going to stand there and stare, or are you going to try to solve the case?" inquired the young woman interrupting Jack's thoughts. Jack slowly made his way toward the young woman, making sure that she could clearly see his detective badge.  
  
"Hello m'am, I'm detective Jack Angel. I'm here to solve this murder case, and I'll need your full cooperation if I'm going to get any where," said Jack, going through the standard interrogation procedures. Now let's cut to the chase, okay? Tell me everything you know about the murder, and give me a little background information about yourself."  
  
"Well, my name is Sara. My sister Mauri and I are archaeologists here to study the ancient castle. We have permission from the Richardson Historical Department to let us investigate it, of course. One of our maps showed of a secret entrance at the side of the castle; I wanted to investigate it, but Mauri wanted to get permission form the new owners of the castle first," confessed Sara.   
  
Jack already knew most of what Sara had to say; he just wanted to make sure that she was on the honest side. The case briefing had told him much, including the fact that the murder might have something to do with the priceless Cat's Eye gem.   
  
"So where exactly were you and your sister during the night of the murder?" asked Jack. "Mauri went to the new baseball stadium to watch a baseball game; she said it was a great game and that she had to struggle hard just find a seat. I wasn't feeling very well, so I stayed at our apartment and watched TV," she answered.   
  
"Well that's enough for today. You've been very helpful Sara," said Jack with a smile. "I'll go visit the victim next and hopefully obtain more information."  
  
I already know most of what she had to say, if the surviving victim can't give me an accurate description of the murder or some potential suspects, then this is going to be a very difficult case to solve.  
  
****************  
  
Detective Jack passed the baseball stadium on his way to visit one of the victims at the hospital the next day. He was amazed at the size of the place; thousands of seats line every wall.  
  
I wonder why such a small town would need such a big stadium…   
  
He made a mental note to visit the place after he questioned the victim. Twenty minutes later he was walking up the stairs of the hospital. He was surprised that the cops where already there. Sheriff Bradly greeted him at the door with grim news.   
  
"Anther murder last night, a fellow by the name of Tyler. I believe he was one of the surviving victims. We're not going to let the public know about any of these events until the case is solved. Please hurry, more lives could be lose!" Jack had heard enough, two murders in one week is not on his "like" list.   
  
Oh men, two innocent lives gone. This is going to be a huge black spot on my clean record. I think I know who the killer is though…  
  
He acquired Sara's address from the sheriff and started for her apartment complex.   
  
*****************  
  
"Could I ask you some questions about last night," Jack asked. He had rushed directly form the hospital to Sara's house. Both Sara and Mauri were there. Sara looked surprised, but Mauri looked terrified.   
  
After a long moment of uncomfortable silence, Mauri cried, "I confess officer, Sara did it. She killed that men at the castle and stole the gem. She was the one that went and finished off the victims last night. She did it all!!!"   
  
Jack looked directly at Mauri and smiled. "Very clever, would have fooled most other detectives but not me. I graduated first in my class at the police academy, and nothing can fool me," he said. " You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in court."   
  
******************  
  
Two days later, Jack sat easily in the sheriff's chair with his legs on the desk at the Richardson County Police Station with the sheriff and Sara.   
  
"I still can't believe my sister would do such a horrible thing," said Sara through quivering lips. "I thought I knew her so well." She shuddered as she finished the sentence.  
  
"What I want to know is how you figured out that Mauri was the culprit," asked Sheriff Bradly "I mean I thought Sara was guilty."   
  
Yeah, and I bet you thought the earth was flat too.   
  
Jack silently laughed at the sheriff's incompetence.  
  
"I was misleaded as well, but that was before I saw through Mauri's clever deception," boosted Jack. "I began to grow suspicious when Sara told me that Mauri said that she had to struggle just to find a seat at the stadium. The stadium could hold at least four thousand people and there could not be more then five hundred people in Richardson County; therefore it could not possibly have been full. Also, when I went to Sara's apartment to ask some questions, Mauri cried out that she wasn't the culprit even before I told them what I was there for. So clearly Mauri murdered the men at the castle and tried to frame her own sister to get away with it. How heartless."   
  
"Well, I don't care how you did it, but I'm just grateful that the murder is safely behind bars," said the shrift with much relieve. "We'll take Miss Sara to the airport tomorrow, so she can return to the U.S, and then we could start the search for where Mauri hide the Cat's Eye."  
  
*******************  
  
That night, along in her apartment, Sara fingered the newest addition to her enormous collection of fine jewelry and rare gems . "You are at last mine," she whispered to the beautiful sapphire. 


End file.
